


To Find/Build A Home Extras

by Aceofstars16



Series: "To Find A Home" Series [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Other, Pre-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 10:50:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15794994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aceofstars16/pseuds/Aceofstars16
Summary: A collection of small drabbles and AUs that take place within the same story line as "To Find/Build A Home" but aren't vital for the development of the plot of the main story itself.





	To Find/Build A Home Extras

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being taken away from Tony, Peter doesn't go back to the mansion, instead he grows up in the system. It isn't until years later when he's in New York that he gains powers and sees his old guardian again...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr post](http://aceofstars16.tumblr.com/post/177365171533/righting-a-wrong)

Peter collapsed on his bed, his ears still ringing from the reprimand he had just gotten. Yes, he understood why Mrs. Olsen had been upset, he had stayed out two hours past curfew, and this was the third time this week. But every time he told himself to head home, he would see someone else that needed help, that needed a hero, and he couldn’t say no. Even as his body ached and his head swam with exhaustion, he would never stop helping others. He had gotten these powers for a reason, he wasn’t going to waste them.

A poster on the wall caught his eye and Peter felt a small prick of sadness in his chest. Every time he had moved to a new foster home, he had debated leaving the poster behind, but he could never bring himself to. By now it was fading and curling at the edges, but the image was still as clear as ever. Tony Stark posing for…who even knew what. Peter had bought it in a store after moving on from the Onderons. It was silly, he knew. He had only stayed with Mr. Stark for a few weeks, but they had been some of the most enjoyable weeks of his life. There were days when it almost felt like it had just been a dream. But then he would pull out one of the old notebooks he had gotten with Mr. Stark all those years ago and he knew it wasn’t. Then there were the days when he couldn’t even look at the poster. He knew in his heart that it hadn’t been Tony’s fault for what happened, but he still wondered what might’ve been different if he had stayed at the mansion. If Mr. Stark had fought to keep him. But he was just a piece in a publicity game, so of course Iron Man wouldn’t do that for him.

Pushing away the painful memories, Peter reached over and grabbed his backpack, pulling out his homework while making sure his homemade suit was hidden. Glancing at the clock, Peter held back a groan. It was almost midnight. Tomorrow was going to be another long day…

* * *

 

With a tap, Tony rewound the video again. You would think after years of dealing with aliens and super soldiers he would be used to seeing new heroes, but this hero was different. His suit was obviously homemade, and very lacking in many departments, but it worked and he was still able to do things any normal person wouldn’t be able to accomplish. Despite Spider-man’s obvious amateur fighting style, he had potential. One day he might be an asset to the team, but only one day, for now, Tony had other things to worry about.

Upgrading tech, planning out new missions, there was plenty to focus on besides a new hero in New York. And yet during nights when he couldn’t sleep, Tony found himself studying Spider-man’s suit, and his fighting style. It really wasn’t a good suit, it clearly was a hand me down jacket or something. It wasn’t intentional, but whenever the new hero crossed his mind, Tony found himself brainstorming what kind of suit would be good for him. Soon it went from brainstorming to working out a rough prototype.

That’s how Tony found himself staring at the screen in front of him, his brain trying to wrap his mind around what he was seeing. After working on a suit, he realized he really should figure out who Spider-man was. After all, he couldn’t exactly give a suit to a stranger, and he was curious as to who this new vigilante was. But he wasn’t expecting this.

Peter Parker.

Tony would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about the kid. Hearing a child laughing in a park, picking up a science book that he just knew Peter would’ve loved. They were little things, and every time they came up, Tony tried to ignore the pang of guilt in his chest. Peter had just been a kid, and Tony had promised him that he’d pay to get him through school and make sure he had everything he needed, and he had broken that promise within a few weeks. At first, Tony had been tempted to check in on the kid, maybe call him, but then he would tell himself that wouldn’t help anyone. Peter needed to move on, Tony making any kind of contact would only make things worse. So, he forced himself not to look, instead he simply sent a few generous donations to the foster care system, hoping it would benefit Peter in some way.

But now Peter was back. He was in New York of all places. And he was a superhero. The odds of that happening were about ten trillion to one, but it had happened.

A few minutes ago, Tony was fully planning on calling whoever Spider-man was, or at least trying to plan a visit so he could show off the suit and help the vigilante out, but now all of those plans were thrown out the window. It took only a few seconds to find that Peter was still in the system. No one had ever adopted him, he had been shuffled from home to home and the guilt that weighed down on Tony’s chest was unbearable.

“Close it all, Fri.” Running a hand over his face, Tony looked over at the suit he had made and quickly pushed it to the side. He wanted to help inspire the next generation, he wanted to support new heroes, because he knew one day they would be the ones saving the world. But the thought of seeing Peter again, after all these years, after letting him down…Tony couldn’t face that. Not now.

Maybe one day he would be able to, but not today. Spider-man was doing okay for now, he didn’t need a new suit yet, right?

Right. That’s what Tony told himself over and over again, even as guilt clawed at his heart.

 _You’re letting him down again_. That was the continual thought that haunted Tony for a week until he caved.

It was a new Spider-man video, where the kid stopped a car from running into a bus. For anyone else, it would’ve been impossible, but not for him. But as he swung away, Tony saw him holding his arm to his chest. How many times had Peter gotten bruised and battered because his suit offered no protection?

So, despite every bit of guilt and worry pressing down on him, Tony grabbed the suit and drove to the address listed for Peter’s current guardians.

He wasn’t going to let the kid down again.

* * *

 

Peter was exhausted. It had been another long night – though now he had made a habit of going home and then climbing out the window so he didn’t get grounded for being a hero. Every time he did, he felt a small wave of guilt for sneaking out, but it wasn’t like he was getting drunk at a party, he was helping people. That was the only way he could make himself feel better about it, even if it did result in him being exhausted on a regular basis.

Maybe tonight he would give himself a day off and just finish his homework and go to bed early. The thought was still playing around in his head as he walked to the apartment, so much so that he didn’t even notice the nice car parked outside.

As he exited the elevator, Peter’s increased senses went crazy and he quickly looked up, only to freeze as he saw who was standing in the hallway. It couldn’t be…he was hallucinating, his brain was just making things up. But as he took a few hesitant steps forward, nothing changed. Mr. Stark was still standing in front of the apartment door.

“Mr…I uh…what are you uh…?”

Mr. Stark gestured to the door. “Can we talk inside? I’ve already gotten some strange looks out here.”

Peter glanced at the door, his brain slow to connect that Mrs. Olsen was probably out visiting her sister, she did that a lot. He knew it was one of the only reasons she had taken him in, to help pay for the treatments, but she wasn’t the worst person he’d been housed with.

“Peter?”

“Uh, right, yeah…” Peter shook his head, trying to figure out what the heck was going on even though all he wanted to do was lie down and sleep for a few hours.

Unlocking the door, Peter walked in and dropped his backpack on the floor before hesitantly looking up at Mr. Stark, who was studying the room.

“Not a bad place.”

A spark of anger jumped in Peter’s chest. Not bad. Yeah, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t a mansion either. “What are you…why are you here?”

Tony sighed and then looked up at Peter. “I just…wanted to see how you are doing.”

“Why do you care? I haven’t seen you in…years and then you just show up?” The anger in Peter’s chest blazed brighter even while he felt the hurt that had been aching inside for years press down on him.

Opening his mouth, Mr. Stark looked like he was going to talk, but then he closed his mouth and shook his head, muttering to himself.

“Look…I…it’s cool to see you and all but, I’m not your problem anymore okay?”

“Well, that’s not entirely true.” Mr. Stark held up his phone and flicked it.

A video of Spider-Man saving a car popped up and Peter felt his heart skip a beat. But then disappointment washed over him. So that was the only reason he came back…

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Peter, come on, give me some credit. You aren’t exactly subtle when you change in alleyways. How long?”

For a moment, Peter wanted to just pretend he didn’t know what Mr. Stark was talking about, but despite the hurt expanding in his chest, he also didn’t want his old guardian to leave, at least, not yet. “A few months…”

Out of the corner of his eye, Peter saw Mr. Stark nod. “What about the webbing? I’m assuming that’s not coming out of you.”

“I made it…”

A smile. “I always knew you were a bright kid.”

“Yeah, good for you. Now, it was nice to catch up and everything but I have homework I need to do so-”

“Peter.”

It was amazing the kind of memories one word could bring back.

“What? What do you want? You obviously didn’t care about me before, but now that I have powers you suddenly remember me? I’ve been doing fine on my own okay, so if you don’t have anything else to say can you please just-”

Peter’s voice cracked and he quickly looked away, not wanting to show how hurt he was. That he only mattered now because he was a superhero.

There was a sigh, then a thump on the table. “…I’m sorry, Peter…”

A second later, the door opened and closed and Peter was alone, but when he glanced up, he saw a silver briefcase on the table. Despite the well of emotions in his chest, he found himself walking towards it and opening it up, only to jump back as he saw the most complex and amazing suit.

“Wha-?”

Glancing up at the door, Peter almost ran out after Mr. Stark, but he had no clue what to say, so he just stood there, staring at the door until his exhaustion returned and he quickly stuffed the case under his bed before taking a well needed nap.

* * *

 

Everything hurt. Peter was used to it by now, but normally it came from fighting crime, not just living in an apartment. It had been a few weeks since Mr. Stark had visited him and about a week ago, Mrs. Olsen had told him her sister was moving in and had to take his room. Which meant a new family. And as soon as he met Mr. Grey, Peter knew he was bad. With just one look, the hair on his arms raised and every instinct told him to run. But of course he couldn’t run. This was his new home, if he ran, he would only be in more trouble. So, he managed, and escaped through hero work while trying not to listen to the insults yelled at him every day. He had dealt with things like it before…he could again.

At least that’s what he told himself.

Maybe if he had some of his old comforts, he could get through it. But almost all of his personal items had been slowly taken away until he only had the bare necessities, and his suit. So, he did what he could. Some nights he stayed out longer than he should, sneaking in only to sleep then rushing out before anyone woke up. It was exhausting, but it was better than the alternative.

However, he couldn’t go on like that forever, there were times when he had to face his guardian and just close his eyes and take it. Then there were the nights when he was too tired to go home, when he fell asleep on fire escapes or rooftops – which oddly enough felt safer than his own room.

* * *

 

Something was wrong. Tony didn’t notice it right away, it was slow at first. Peter staying out later, sometimes leaving earlier. He blamed the kid’s desire to be a hero, and maybe it helped him adjust to a new home. But then, one night, when he couldn’t sleep, Tony pulled up the tracker and saw the kid far from his apartment, and his heartrate indicated he was…sleeping?

The rest of the night, Tony tried to reason that he must’ve been sleeping over at a friend’s house, but the next morning – after having barely slept at all – he still couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.

 _I’ll just go check on him_. The thought of talking to Peter again weighed down on Tony - it hadn’t exactly gone amazing last time - but he needed to make sure the kid was okay. Even if it meant he had to face the guilt, it wasn’t like he was a stranger to guilt after all.

As soon as he knocked on the door, Tony knew something was up. The man that answered the door glared at him and was obviously trying not to show the inside of the apartment.

“What do you want?”

“Are you, Carson Grey, the guardian of Peter Parker?” Tony asked, studying the man and trying to get a better read on him. He could’ve sworn he saw a flash of fear flash on the man’s face.

“You with the state?”

“Well no, but-”

“Good. Now get out of here.”

Before the man could close the door, Tony grabbed it. “I don’t think you know who I am. I’m Tony Stark.”

The man glared at him. “I don’t care who you are. Leave!”

The door closed and Tony barely moved his fingers away in time. Something definitely wasn’t right, and he almost called Friday to send him one of his suits but a small voice told him that wasn’t the right move. No, he knew where to go.

Turning on his heel, he started walking back to his car when something caught his eye and he almost tripped over his own feet.

Sitting on the ground, next to garbage cans was a dirty looking stuffed animal.

“No…” Walking over to it, Tony crouched down and picked it up. It was…Freckles. He didn’t know how he remembered the name, or even what it looked like, but he knew it was Peter’s. After all these years the kid hadn’t gotten rid of it. But now it was out in the trash. Yes, something definitely wasn’t right. And Tony was going to fix it.

* * *

 

When Peter came home, he was expecting yelling, but not this…

“Who did you tell?!?”

“Wha-what?” Peter stammered backing himself against the wall and glancing at the window. He needed to get out of here before…

“Don’t ‘what’ me kid! Iron Man just showed up at my door and you play dumb?”

“Iron-” Peter stared at the man in front of him. He rarely ever believed anything Mr. Grey said, but why would he make up Mr. Stark coming to…check in on him?

“That’s it!”

The hairs on Peter’s neck rose up and he tried bolting out of the house, but a rough hand grabbed his shirt and yanked him back and it took all his power not to use his strength to stumble away. But no one knew who he was – aside from Mr. Stark – and he couldn’t change that now…

* * *

 

Tony was barely keeping himself in check as he walked next to Janet, the social worker who the agency had sent to check in on Peter.

“Mr. Stark, you really must wait in your car, you aren’t qualified-”

“I fostered Peter once and I’m not standing around if some jerk is hurting him.” There was no way he would’ve been able to wait in the car, especially because he highly doubted the man he had met would respect a simple social worker.

As Janet knocked on the door, Tony crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, glancing down to look at his watch. He might not have a suit but he wasn’t totally unarmed…

From the other side of the door, there was yelling, then it opened. Mr. Grey took one look at Tony and the anger on his face increased.

“Mr. Grey, I’m with the system. I’m here to check in and make sure Peter is doing well.” Janet glanced at Tony. “Per request of Mr. Stark.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but the brat isn’t here right now.” He made to close the door again but, like this morning, Tony grabbed it.

“That’s funny because I heard you talking with someone a second ago.”

“It was the TV.”

“You talk to the TV, huh? The heat signature I’m picking up would indicate otherwise.” Without another word, Tony shoved the door open, sending Carson Grey stumbling backwards.

“Mr. Stark! Forced entry is-”

Tony ignored the social worker as he made his way into the apartment and opened the door that the signature was coming from, but when he saw the sight in front of him, he froze, anger rising in his chest. Peter was huddled in the corner of the room, a black eye highlighting his face and bruises covering his arms.

Without thinking, Tony found his hand pressing a button on his watch.

“You can’t just-” Tony spun around, pulling the one shot repulsor over his hand and aiming it at Mr. Grey.

“Beat up a kid and get away with it? I agree.”

Mr. Grey stared at the repulsor, anger blazing in his eyes, but fear was holding him back.

“Say, Janet, you mind getting Peter out of here?”

“What…are you going to do?”

“Keep an eye on this piece of garbage until the police get here.” Tony caught a glance at Peter as Janet helped him up, and the kid was staring at Tony, his eyes wide.

“It’s going to be okay now, Pete.” Tony locked eyes with the kid for a moment, then looked back at Mr. Grey who had taken a step towards the door.

“No you don’t!” Tony snapped, as he took a step forward, making sure to place himself in-between Peter and the jerk.

“M-Mr. Stark?” Peter’s voice was hesitant and shaky. It broke Tony’s heart.

“Janet will take care of you, kid, don’t worry.”

Peter hesitated, but a second later he was out the door and Tony looked back at Mr. Grey. All he wanted to do was beat this jerk senseless, but he simply kept his repulsor trained on him until the police came. Then he shot him. It wouldn’t kill him, Tony knew that, but it would hurt, and if anyone deserved to be in pain for the next few days, it was this man who had hurt an innocent kid.

* * *

 

Peter wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out. His nerves were shot during the whole ride to the agency. He didn’t know this woman, he’d only been to the agency once before, and now Mr. Stark was alone with Mr. Grey, and despite knowing that Iron Man could more than handle it, he was still worried. He knew firsthand how painful Mr. Grey’s fists could be…

And then there was the walk into the building. People were staring at him, some with curiosity, some with sympathy. Either way, Peter shrunk away from every look, wishing he had a hood he could pull over his face.

Then there was the waiting, the whispering, the questions. Every time someone new walked into the room, Peter would hug himself a little tighter and just wish they would stop making him relive it all. He knew they weren’t trying to be mean, but they needed to know what had happened, he just wished it didn’t hurt so much.

The door opened again and Peter made himself hold back a whimper. Maybe this was one of the easier ones, like that nurse who had checked over his bruises, or the nice man who had brought him something to eat.

“Hey, Pete.”

Peter’s eyes snapped open and he found himself looking at Mr. Stark, who was standing in front of him, concern glistening in his eyes. That surprised Peter almost as much as seeing Tony again.

Then the door opened again and Peter quickly whipped his head around to see who had come in. His heart sank when he recognized it as Mrs. Hinsen, the woman who always assigned his new home. He didn’t even want to think about going to a new home, not now…

“Mr. Stark, I heard you came in. While we appreciate you alerting us to the situation, your part is done now.”

“So, what? I can’t check on the kid to make sure he’s okay?”

The defensiveness in Mr. Stark’s voice was not what Peter was expecting. After all, he had only known Tony for a little while, years ago. Unless this was because of being a hero. What was he thinking? Of course it was about him being Spider-man, nothing more…

Mrs. Hinsen gestured to Peter. “He’s okay. Now please, I need to talk with Peter about where we go from here.”

Mr. Stark crossed his arms. “So, you are just going to come in and talk about new homes right after everything that happened? Why not give the kid a break?”

“We will do what is best for Peter, and that includes finding where he will be staying. Now, if you will please-”

“Where?”

“What?”

Mr. Stark glanced at Peter, then back and Mrs. Hinsen. “Where are you sending him?”

“I am not discussing it with you, this is a matter between the agency and-”

“No.” It was a simple word, but even Peter froze at the intensity behind it. “I am not letting Peter end up in another home like that one.” He spat the last words out. “I’m not leaving until I know he’ll be okay.”

Peter wanted to say something, but his tongue seemed frozen in his mouth. He didn’t know what to say, heck he didn’t even know what to think or feel. Despite that though, he couldn’t help but feel a little touched that Tony was worried about him…even if it was only because of his newfound powers.

Mrs. Hinsen sighed. “Mr. Stark, you have no right to play any role in that unless you plan to foster Peter yourself, and with your record I don’t think-”

“I’ll do it.”

The words struck Peter in the chest. Had he just heard…?

“You…what?”

“Foster Peter, that’s not against the law, right?” Tony’s straightforward manner was the exact opposite to the complete dumbstruck confusion Peter was experiencing.

“I…well, no but with your record, I don’t think-”

“What? I left the kid for five minutes with an AI who is smarter than many humans. I’m pretty sure there are a lot worse people out there. Oh wait, the police just arrested one. You know what? I change my mind. I don’t want to foster Peter.”

* * *

 

Peter couldn’t breathe. For a moment, he was a kid again, elated at the thought of living with Mr. Stark. And now it was gone…

“Good, now can-”

“I want to adopt him.”

“What?!?” Peter blurted out, the same moment Mrs. Hinsen did.

“Yeah. So, how do we go about that?”

The next day, Peter was still in shock. If someone had told him a day ago that he would be walking into the Avenger’s complex with Tony Stark, he would’ve laughed. But here he was. He felt like pinching himself to make sure it was real but…if this was a dream, he didn’t want to wake up from it.

“Come on, your room is this way.”

Peter glanced at Mr. Stark, but he was already walking towards the stairs so Peter grabbed the strap of his duffle a little tighter and followed.

Tony stopped in front of an open door and Peter hesitantly walked in, only to freeze as he saw the bed.

“Freckles?” Without thinking, he rushed forward and grabbed the cheetah, holding it tight, only when Mr. Stark spoke did he realize how childish it was.

“I found him and cleaned him up a little. Thought he might make it a little more like a home, cause…well the compound isn’t exactly a house.”

Even as Peter’s cheeks flushed, he found himself smiling as he held the stuffed animal tighter. “Thank you…”

“Yup. Well…I’ll let you get settled. If you need anything just ask Friday, she’s programed into the whole complex.”

“Friday? What about Jarvis?” Peter couldn’t help but ask. It may have been years ago, but he still remembered the AI who had helped him out. Only when he saw Mr. Stark flinch did his stomach clench in fear.

“He…well, he’s kind of here. But…well, you’ll meet him soon. Friday is my new AI, she handles things almost as well.” Tony gave a half smile and then waved as he headed out the door, leaving Peter feeling confused and slightly guilty.

Still hugging Freckles, he looked around the room. It was pretty plain, but it was nice. There was a window looking out over the complex and Peter found himself standing in front of it as he tried to come to terms with all that had happened.

He couldn’t be more relieved to be away from Mr. Grey, and the sore ribs were the only things left from his time there. But as excited as he was to be here, with Mr. Stark, with the Avengers, he couldn’t help but feel anxious. He was here because he was an asset, he was a hero…what if he couldn’t keep up?

* * *

 

Training was normal around the complex, making sure everyone was in top form for the next mission. Tony hadn’t expected Peter to want to join in so quickly, but a day after he arrived, he showed up – albeit a little late – to training. A small knot of worry grew in Tony’s chest at first. Peter was just a kid and he had been beaten up only a few days ago. But after a few rotations, he seemed fine.

So, Peter joined each training session, though Tony made sure he never went on mission. He was just a kid and he was Tony’s responsibility, there was no way he was taking him to other countries to fight. Besides, he would have plenty of time to be a hero in the future, now he was just a kid. But apparently Peter didn’t think that.

“What am I doing wrong?”

Tony froze, stopping before the bend in the hall. Peter was frustrated, that was clear, but about what? In the few weeks he had been here, the kid had been perfectly fine. And after the little incident with his science project, he always came to Tony when he was confused with school – though sometimes he went to one of the other Avengers, much to Tony’s disappointment.

“I train as hard as I can and I never go on missions…ugh!”

As Tony walked around the corner, he saw Peter kicking the wall.

“Hey now, if you should be mad at anyone, you should be mad at me, not the wall.”

Peter’s head shot up and his eyes went wide. “Mr. Stark, I uh…” Ducking his head, he looked at the ground. “Sorry…”

“What are you sorry for? Kid, this place is built to withstand just about anything, I don’t think even your super strength could hurt it too much.” Tony hoped a little teasing might help the kid relax a little, but Peter didn’t even look up.

Peter opened his, but then he shut it and bunched up his shoulders. “I…I’m going to go work on my homework.” He turned around, obviously wanting to get away quickly. But a knot of worry was growing in Tony’s chest and he couldn’t ignore it.

“Wait.” Tony reached out and placed a hand on Peter’s shoulder to stop him. When he flinched, Tony quickly pulled away, not wanting to spark any bad memories for the kid. To his relief though, Peter didn’t keep walking, though he didn’t turn and look at Tony either.

“Look, Pete, you’re still learning. Missions are dangerous, you’ll get to them one day, but for now I want you to focus on school, okay?”

A simple nod. Then Peter turned and hurried away, leaving Tony even more worried than before. For a split second, a spark of doubt fired in his chest. He didn’t know any more about raising a kid than when he had first taken in Peter. But he waved that thought away. He had regretted letting Peter go once, he wasn’t going to second guess himself now. The kid was something special, and Tony wasn’t going to let him go again. He would give him time and space. If something was really wrong, Peter would ask for help.

* * *

 

 _Focus on school_. The words kept ringing around in Peter’s brain, each time berating him more and more. He wasn’t ready for missions, he wasn’t good enough, he was too inexperienced. And there was only one way to change that.

After school, Peter would suit up and look for anything to fight. It was reminiscent of the days of using being a hero to escape the harsh realities of life. But now it had a different purpose. To prove he was ready, that he wasn’t just a kid. Most days, he told Mr. Stark he was hanging out with a friend, or staying late at the school lab to work – which were flimsy excuses seeing as his lab at the complex was way better than anything at school and he didn’t really have any super close friends. But they seemed to work. If only crime in the city would work for him too.

Most of the time he only caught thieves or muggers, or spent his days doing little things - which he normally enjoyed - but he needed something big.

It wasn’t until he overheard a police radio that he found something promising. It was chatter about a gang of people who kept hitting up banks and jewelry stores, anything with a lot of money or valuables. And they didn’t care about who got hurt in the process.

“I hate these guys…”

Peter heard the officer in the car mumble. It wasn’t a supervillain but…it might do…

Then he saw their handywork. Or really, the rubble left behind. After finding out about the gang, Peter had looked up where they had recently attacked and decided to see just what they had done in the past, and it was _bad_. But maybe that was a good thing. If Peter could take them down on his own, surely that would be enough to get on a mission, to prove that he was ready to be a hero.

* * *

 

It was about a week after he had found out about the gang. Peter had done recon and put together a list of possible places they would hit, and knowing where the police normally patrolled, he narrowed it down to a museum.

Waiting was a pain, but if he knew what was to come, Peter would’ve been fine waiting all night. When he saw the group, his stomach dropped. There were at least six of them, and none of them were small. Maybe this was too much…but this was his chance, Peter had to earn his keep and prove his worth. Taking a shaky breath, he steeled himself then jumped to the ground, wanting to stop them before they could inflict any damage – on the museum or the guards inside.

“Hey guys, I think the museum is closed.” Despite the fear, Peter found the quip escaping his mouth, and the familiarity of it helped him feel steadier.

The group looked at him, but after a second, all but one continued their trajectory towards the museum.

“Aw, come on, it’s more fun when everyone joins in!” Peter shot webs at two of them, and started aiming for a third.

Then his entire body exploded in pain and he fell to his knees, a cry escaping his mouth. Looking up, he saw one of the men walking towards him, a strange looking gun in his hand, and it was pointed at Peter, finger on the trigger.

Peter jumped out of the way before the blast hit him again, but his body felt weak and shaky. There was no blood, but whatever had hit him felt much worse, making his vision fuzzy. Fear closed around his throat. He hadn’t been planning on strange guns in this scenario, but he had to do this.

Hitting the strange gun with his webs, Peter pulled it out of the thug’s hand before webbing up another one. But the rest had already blasted the door, apparently his webs didn’t hold them for long.

“Come on, Peter, step it up.” He muttered to himself as he ran to the entrance of the museum, only for something to hit him hard in the chest, sending him flying back into the ground.

“Take that bug.”

A laugh. “He’s not much of a threat, is he?”

With the ringing in his head, only Peter’s enhanced senses alerted him to the incoming hit, and he barely managed to jump away, only for a shock to erupt through his entire body as the strange gun hit him again, resulting in a clumsy landing. And this time, he couldn’t move fast enough to avoid being hit by the other thug, which sent him flying into a lamp post. Pain shot through his back and tears played in his eyes.

Everything hurt, and Peter could barely dodge the next attack, but it wasn’t any use. A blast from the other thug’s gun stunned him. Then another hit. Peter needed to move, he needed to leave, to get out of there, to do something. But pain and fear were clouding his mind. He couldn’t think straight.

Another hit. Blood in his mouth. A small attempt to web up the guy, but Peter’s aim was off and it flew right over the man’s head. This time two blasts hit him, draining all the energy from his body.

“You picked the wrong crew to mess with kid.”

Peter could barely hear the words, maybe his ears were broken, or maybe he was just in too much pain to understand what was happening. Because the next second he thought he heard a loud thump, and a voice that he could’ve sworn was Mr. Stark.

“Actually, you’re the ones who picked the wrong kid to mess with.”

There were blasts, yells, all of them rang painfully loud in Peter’s ears. Car wheels screeched, and then it was silent, blissfully silent. Until the sound of machinery and footsteps echoed in his ears.

“Pete!” This time, Peter was almost sure it was Mr. Stark’s voice, but even the thought of opening his eyes exhausted him. Only when his mask was pulled off and his chest propped up did Peter try to try to open them, but the lights of the city physically hurt him and with a groan he quickly shut them again.

“Oh thank goodness, Fri what’s wrong with him?”

There was silence for a moment, and then a curse from Tony.

“Kid what were you thinking?” There was anger in his voice, and Peter would’ve flinched if his body wasn’t hurting so much.

“Bad guys, had to stop them.” It was all he could mutter, and when he did, he could taste the blood in his mouth.

“Not six guys with crazy tech!” Tony practically yelled, which was murder on Peter’s ears.

Silence, then a sigh. “Come on, let’s get you to the complex and cleaned up.”

“What about the guys?” Despite everything hurting, Peter wanted to make sure they had been stopped.

“They had some kind of tech that took out my suit for a bit. The others should be tracking them, they won’t get far.”

“Mkay…” It was the only response Peter could come up with. Now that his adrenaline was dying, everything was starting to hurt even more, which didn’t seem possible. Darkness started creeping over him and he couldn’t find the strength to fight it.

* * *

 

A dull pain. That was the first thing Peter woke to. The next thing he noticed was the beeping coming from somewhere off to his side. Then he pried an eye open, only to close it at the brightness of the room. After a second, he forced himself to open both eyes, and then he saw the room – an infirmary room in the complex.

How had he gotten here? He tried to piece together what had happened before he blacked out, but it was all fuzzy. He had a vague memory of talking to Mr. Stark but…that couldn’t be right, could it?

“About time you woke up.”

The voice sounded from his side and Peter quickly looked for its source, but regretted the movement as soon as he did.

“Easy.”

Peter spotted Tony as he spoke again, and he froze. “I…what…”

Mr. Stark held up a hand. “First things first. You’re grounded.”

“Wha-?”

“Second.” Tony continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “I’m taking away your suit.”

“What! No! You can’t do that!” Peter sat up, wincing at the pain, and a hand helped ease him down so he was lying back again.

“Yes, I can. I made the suit and you ran blindly into a fight that you had no chance of winning. If you can’t use it properly, then you shouldn’t have it. Or fight, hence the grounded part.”

“What? Wha…what about training?” Peter felt himself deflating. He had been trying to prove he was ready for more, and now he had lost everything.

A shake of the head. “No suit, no training.”

The simple words hurt, not as much as the strange weapon, but…almost as much. If he wasn’t training, how long would it be until he was sent away again?

Peter didn’t realize tears were building up in his eyes, until the world started going fuzzy. Shame grew inside of him. Heroes didn’t cry. But then again, he wasn’t really a hero anymore, was he?

A sigh from Mr. Stark. “You should rest up.” A hand patted his shoulder, but Peter barely felt it. He was going to lose everything again, and it was all his fault.

He tried to hold back the tears, he managed for a few seconds. But each moment he fought it, the pain in his body grew, until everything hurt, and then a sob escaped his mouth. Covering his mouth, he tried to stifle it, but it was no use. Another sob, then another as the tears fell from his eyes.

“Pete? Hey…it’s okay.” Mr. Stark’s voice was soft, he almost sounded worried, but Peter barely registered that.

“No it-it’s not I-I thought I could…I could prove myself, but-but then I…” Another sob.

“You don’t need to prove yourself.”

“Yes I do! That-that’s the whole reason I-I’m here.”

“Peter, what…? What are you talking about?” There was genuine confusion in Tony’s voice, but Peter didn’t register it, all he could think about was going to a new home, of being sent back into the world, lost and alone.

“Spider-spider-man…I, he…he’s why I-I’m here.”

Silence. Only the beeps of the machine next to him broke it, and each moment drove Peter deeper and deeper into the reality of it all. He had ruined it all, and now he was going to have to leave. The complex was only for heroes, he didn’t belong there anymore.

“Peter.”

The seriousness of Mr. Stark’s voice pulled Peter out of his thoughts, and he found himself looking up at Tony – a true hero. The man Peter had looked up to for so many years.

“I didn’t adopt you because you’re Spider-man.”

It was the last thing Peter expected to hear. “You…you didn’t?”

“Of course not!” Tony tossed a hand up as if it was obvious. “Ever since you left all those years ago I…I wondered if I had made a mistake. I told myself it was the right call, that you would be fine. And then I found out all that happened to you, all I could’ve prevented if I had just swallowed my pride and fought to get you back. I let you go once and you suffered for it. I couldn’t let that happen again.”

Peter’s sobs had eased a little, but as Tony spoke, he found tears welling up in his eyes again, but this time they weren’t fueled by fear. “So…you…you aren’t going to send me back?” Peter could barely get the words out, but he had to know.

Mr. Stark placed a hand of Peter’s shoulder. “Pete, someone would literally have to fight me if they wanted to put you back in the system.”

“Really?”

“Yup, and good luck to them, because I have plenty of suits and a lot of money to-”

It was too good to be true. But relief, hope, happiness – more emotions than Peter could process – flooded his system and he found himself doing something he never thought he would do. He flung his arms around Mr. Stark and hugged him tight. And then the impossible. Tony hugged him back.

Tears fell from Peter’s eyes, but this time, they didn’t hurt. Because he had been wrong. The complex might not be a normal home, and maybe Mr. Stark wasn’t a typical guardian, but as a hand ran through his hair he knew that it was where he belonged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This idea was inspired by a comment I got, of if Tony didn't adopt Peter, and then this idea started forming. It's been a WIP for a loooong time, and I could honestly probably add more to it, but I really wanted to finish the main idea of the AU and share it with you guys! If you read it all, I applaud you, it's a lot longer than most of my one-shots haha xD


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